In the government organisational structure, the Department of Statistics, Malaysia is placed under the Prime Minister's Department. The Chief Statistician is responsible to the Chief Secretary to the Government.

Organizational structure and finance

A. MANAGEMENT/ COORDINATION SERVICES PROGRAMME

There are seven divisions in this programme:

1. Management and Human Resource DivisionThis division is responsible for all matters relating to human resource management, administration and security, finance and accounting, printing and assets management of the Department.

3. Statistical Training DivisionThis division is responsible in the planning and implementation of training programmes in the fields of statistics, ICT, behaviour and generic and human resource development for the Department's personnel.

4. Data Coordination DivisionThis division develops, maintains and coordinates the database for the Economics and Social & Demographics Sectors. This division also coordinates the activities of the State Offices and Cader services.

5. Corporate and User Services DivisionThis division oversees the Department's corporate affairs, sales of publications and undertakes all data requests and dissemination. This division also compiles general publications and coordinates statistical activities and acts as public relation with external agencies.

6. Research and Development DivisionThis division is responsible for the development of appropriate methodologies and statistical techniques in data collection operations and analysis undertaken by the Department.

7. Methodology DivisionThis division is responsible for the preparation and maintenance of the establishments and households frame as well as to prepare the sampling design for the surveys carried out by the department. This division also provides consultancy services on statistical methods to other divisions in the department as well as to other government agencies.

B. SOCIAL/ DEMOGRAPHIC PROGRAMME

There are six divisions in this programme:

1. Prices, Income and Expenditure Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible in producing data related to changes in the country's price levels and inflation rates, changes in consumer’s perception and business expectations. This division also deals with data related to household income distribution patterns, incidence of poverty and household expenditure patterns in Malaysia.

2. Population and Housing Census Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for the planning of the implementation of the census, analysis and documentation of data from the Population and Housing Census. Provides inputs to government and private agencies in formulating policies, implementation and evaluation of national development programmes.

3. Manpower and Social Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible in producing data related to labour force, employment and unemployment; employment in the informal sector; wage and salary as well as internal migration. This division also compiles and produces social data and related indicators as well as conducts social surveys.

4. Agriculture and Agro-Based Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for the collection and preparation of data relating to agriculture and agro-based activities.

5. Demographic Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for the preparation of Vital Statistics such as fertility and mortality rates based on records of birth and death registration, on current and projected population, as well as for the preparation of other demographic indicators.

6. Environment Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for the collection, analysis and dissemination of environment statistics.

2. National Accounts Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for the compilation and production of National Accounts Statistics, especially quarterly and annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by kind of economic activity and expenditure on GDP by type of expenditure at current and constant prices and other National Accounts statistics such as National Income, National Income per capita, Consumption, Savings and other economic variables which is used as indicators of national socioeconomic condition and highly needed for the formulation of national development planning. The division is also responsible to compile and produce other main statistics related to the System of National Accounts namely compilation of Final National Accounts (FNA), Tourism Satellite Accounts, Capital Stocks data, Regional GDP and Social Accounting Matrices.

3. Industrial Production and Construction Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for producing monthly, quarterly and annually data from surveys or censuses on manufacturing, construction and mining & stone quarrying activities.

4. Balance of Payments Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for producing of the Malaysian Balance of Payments estimates which cover the current account and capital account transactions.

5. External Trade Statistics DivisionThis division is responsible for the compilation of monthly and annual International Merchandise Trade Statistics and External Trade Indices.

6. Economic Indicators DivisionThis division is responsible for the compilation of Input-Output Tables that shows the flow of commodity and industry; and economic indicators that consist of the Leading, Coincident and Lagging Indices which reflects the economic performance. This division is also responsible for the compilation of the Distribution and use of Income Accounts and Capital Account which provides macro economic indicators such as investment, saving and net lending/borrowing.

Multi-annual or annual work program

Annual work plans are prepared and approved internally by the Chief Statistician.

Main duties

(1) The Bureau of Statistics established by section 3 of the Statistics Ordinance 1949, shall be known as the Department of Statistics (hereinafter referred to as "the Department").

(2) The functions of the Department shall be to collect and interpret statistics for the purpose of furnishing information required in the formation or carrying out of Government policy in any field or otherwise required for Government purposes or for meeting the needs of trade, commerce, industry or agriculture (including forestry, fishing and hunting).

(3) Save as hereinafter provided, the Department shall where they consider it in the public interest have power to communicate statistics collected by them or their interpretation of statistics so collected not only to the Government department or person for whom the information was collected but also to other authorities or persons to whom the information or interpretation may be useful.

The main functions of the Department, as provided for in the Statistics Act 1965 (Revised - 1989), are the collection, interpretation and dissemination of statistics for the purpose of formulating policies for national development planning and administration.

Under this Act, the Department of Statistics conducts various sample surveys and censuses. It has also conducted the Population and Housing Census for the years 1970, 1980, 1991 and 2000 under the Census Act 1960.

The increasingly important and critical role of the Department of Statistics, in meeting the challenges posed by the growing demands and expectations of users, is in line with the tremendous pace of developments in managing and planning of the national economy as well as in the use of information technology.

Thus, the Department has reorganised its programmes and work procedures to enable it to effectively utilise its resources for the provision of better and more efficient services. The role of the State Department of Statistics also in the process of being upgraded to enable them to better manage and meet the needs of users at various levels.

Brief history and other relevant background information

Brief history and other relevant background information

The Department of Statistics was established in 1949 under the provisions of the Statistics Ordinance 1949 and was then known as the Bureau of Statistics. The statistics produced at that time were limited to external trade and estate agriculture. In 1965, the name of Bureau of Statistics was changed to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia and operated under the provisions of the Statistics Act 1965 (Revised 1989). At the same time, the statistical offices in Sabah and Sarawak became branches of the Department of Statistics headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. In Peninsular Malaysia, state offices were established in stages from 1971 to 1982.

Legal basis

Legal basis

LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 415 STATISTICS ACT 1965 (Revised - 1989)

Other producers of official statistics

Other producers of official statistics

E.g. the Central Bank of Malaysia, Ministry of Finance Malaysia and Ministry of Tourism Malaysia

Data collection

Most recent population census

6 July 2010

Access to administrative data

Data compiled from the education system, health administrative records as well as birth and death registration records are made available to the Department.

Data confidentiality

(1) Except with the prior consent in writing of the person by whom, or of any person (whether as agent or principal) carrying on an undertaking in relation to which, statistics have been collected, no statistics collected by the Department shall be used by them for the purpose of determining any liability of any such person or undertaking to any description of taxation or levy, whether Federal, State or otherwise or be communicated to any Government department or other authority or person, being a department, authority or person likely to use it for that purpose. Safeguards as to the use and communication of information.

(2) In communicating statistics collected by them or the interpretation thereof the Department shall take steps to ensure that the identity of any person or undertaking to whom or to which it relates is not thereby disclosed.